noun
Freq #287977
Meanings
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1
noun
a stout bar used as a lever, especially by sailors to turn a capstan or windlass
The sailors fitted a handspike into the capstan and heaved together.
Thesaurus
Etymology
A compound of hand + spike, named for a bar gripped and worked by hand. Historically it was commonly a wooden lever inserted into a ship's capstan or windlass; broader uses include any stout bar for prying.